Dear Sierran:
Will you be a rock for Sierra Club? Support efforts to protect Starved Rock State Park today! |
I need your help to protect Starved Rock.
You may have heard that Starved Rock State Park, one of Illinois' most special places, is threatened by a massive, open pit sand mine right next to its forests and canyons.
Starved Rock is being sacrificed because of our dependence on fossil fuels. You see, the earth around Starved Rock happens to have the ideal type of sand for use in high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing "fracking" – a new technique to get more oil and gas out of deep deposits in the earth.
But this is not just about Starved Rock. The fact that Starved Rock is threatened by an open pit mine is not a local problem. It's a sign that our dependence on fossil fuels threatens more than our climate. It's a clear sign that we need to speak up for our state parks.
The Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter is mounting an all-out campaign to protect Starved Rock. We're fighting in court, where we have brought a lawsuit to support Starved Rock's canyons, forests, and streams. We're fighting in Springfield, for new safeguards to ensure our parks never face a threat like this again. We're educating the public about the urgency of moving to clean energy.
Moving Illinois beyond coal and oil, and addressing the new threats posed by "fracking" for natural gas, are top priorities – and we're making great progress. We've worked to shut down old coal plants in Chicago and around the state, and promote new clean energy industries like wind, solar, and energy conservation. We're working in Springfield to stop drilling before it starts or pass major new controls on fracking– the dangerous new method of extracting oil and natural gas that has wreaked havoc on water supplies and communities in other states, and is now headed to Illinois. We're also working to strengthen the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) capacity to protect the great outdoors.
To do this, I need your help. We are only in a position to make progress on these problems because of members like you who give us the strength to do so.
Sierra Club members and supporters like you are the core of our strength. Our hundreds of volunteers work across the state, collecting water quality samples, lobbying state legislators, leading hiking, biking, and canoeing trips for kids who wouldn't otherwise experience nature, and much more.
Our efforts are working:
- Illinois is increasing its use of wind and solar energy, and we've created over 20,000 jobs in the last few years in these new clean energy industries.
- We are working to create the brand new Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in McHenry County and southern Wisconsin.
- We have stopped proposals for new coal mines that threatened to destroy prime farmland and pollute our water supply.
- We're helping cities choose renewable energy and commit to climate action at the local level.
We count on Illinois Sierra Club members like you to give us the resources we need to protect places like Starved Rock, and to move beyond coal, oil, and gas to clean energy.
Can you make a gift today to support this important work?
I need you now more than ever to stand with me to protect Starved Rock, and address the root causes that have imperiled that great park. Can you please make a gift to the Illinois Chapter today?
Sincerely,